48 Hours Well Spent: Award-Winning Pizza and Gnocchi on Malvern Road, South Yarra

South Yarra has no shortage of places to eat, yet 48h Pizza e Gnocchi Bar still feels like a discovery. Tucked at 373 Malvern Road in Hawksburn, a short walk from Chapel Street, this compact Italian dining room has spent more than a decade proving that patience in the dough room is worth more than another loud fit-out.

The name is the method. Forty-eight hours is the minimum the kitchen allows its dough to ferment with natural yeast before it ever meets the oven. The result is a crust that is light, fragrant and easy to eat — blistered at the rim, soft in the middle — the sort of pizza Italians recognise as properly made rather than rushed.

Melbourne’s first pizza and gnocchi bar

Owners Fabio Biscaldi and Michele Circhirillo opened the South Yarra restaurant in 2015 as Melbourne’s first dedicated pizza and gnocchi bar. Biscaldi comes from the north of Italy; Circhirillo from the south. Both are alumni of Melbourne’s much-loved D.O.C, and the menu still reads like a conversation between those two regions: cured meats and fontina on one side, heat, tomato and seafood on the other.

The welcome from locals was strong enough that a second restaurant followed in Elsternwick in 2017. A pizza truck later joined the family for events. South Yarra remains the original — small, informal and warm, with exposed brick, vintage Italian posters and a trattoria feel rather than a design-studio one. Outdoor tables sit under café umbrellas and portable heaters at the front of the shop. Dogs are welcome.

“Fresh produce and authentic flavours and the best of Italian culture and hospitality are at the heart of all that we do,” the owners write. “Buon appetito — Michele and Fabio.”

Why the awards keep coming

Italian guide 50 Top Pizza has followed 48h for years. The South Yarra kitchen was named Best Pizzeria in Oceania in 2021, Best Pizzeria in Asia-Pacific in 2022, and Best Pizzeria in Australia across 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. In the 2026 world ranking it still sits inside the global Top 100, at number 79, and 15th in Asia-Pacific.

The pizza that first put the restaurant on the international map is the Di Parma: tomato, fior di latte, Prosciutto di Parma, rocket and Grana Padano. Circhirillo took it to the Pizza World Championship in 2019 and it was judged the best pizza in Australia. It remains the house signature.

Judges have praised the long fermentation, the imported Italian ingredients and a willingness to work with Australian produce as well — including collaborations with First Nations ingredients such as warrigal greens and macadamia on seasonal specials.

What to order

The menu is built around two pillars — pizze and gnocchi — with antipasti, focacce, salads, house-made pasta and a short list of dolci around them. Dishes change with the seasons, so treat the following as a guide rather than a fixed card.

Pizza. Classics sit beside more inventive pies. Expect a proper Margherita, the celebrated Di Parma, and seasonal specials that have included figs with stracciatella and anchovy, and an Arcobaleno of rainbow chard, scamorza and wild mushrooms. There is usually a vegetarian or vegan option on the board. All pizze and focacce can be made gluten-free on request (the kitchen notes that it is still a working pizzeria using wheat flour, so traces are possible).

Gnocchi. This is the other reason people return. Every gnocchi dish is made with gluten-free flour, which is unusual for an Italian kitchen of this reputation. The list has included charcoal-activated gnocchi with gorgonzola, radicchio and vincotto; a lavish Aragosta with lobster, prawns, tomato and caviar; truffle versions in winter; and simpler tomato or baked mushroom plates. Thursday at South Yarra is often “All You Can Gnocchi” night.

Around the table. Antipasti run from smoked prosciutto with fontina to tuna tartare. There is a bambini menu, high chairs and colouring for children. The drinks list is fully licensed — no BYO — with Italian and Australian wines, Aperol spritzes and Italian beers. Cakeage is not charged if you bring a celebration cake.

Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at South Yarra have also featured an Unlimited Pizza Ride at a set price per person (minimum numbers apply). Check the current “What’s On” page before you book, because specials rotate.

Classes, catering and the pizza truck

48h is not only a dinner address. The team runs regular pizza, gnocchi and pasta masterclasses at both South Yarra and Elsternwick — hands-on sessions that finish with lunch and a glass of wine. Private classes work well for birthdays, hens’ parties and corporate groups.

Catering covers private lunches in the restaurant, on-site events for larger celebrations, and a wood-fired pizza truck that can travel to weddings and parties. Groups of 12 or more usually dine from a sharing set menu. Enquiries go through the website or catering@48h.com.au.

Takeaway is available from the Malvern Road kitchen, and delivery covers neighbouring suburbs including Prahran, Toorak, Malvern, Richmond, Cremorne, Burnley and parts of South and East Melbourne.

The room, and how to book

The South Yarra dining room is petite. Bookings are strongly recommended, especially from Thursday to Sunday. Time slots are typically 1.5 hours for one to five guests, two hours for six to ten, and 2.5 hours for eleven or more. Outdoor tables cannot always be moved inside if the weather turns.

Usual dinner hours at South Yarra (always confirm before you travel, as public holidays and summer Mondays sometimes change):

• Monday: closed (seasonal Monday openings in summer)
• Tuesday–Thursday: 5pm–9pm
• Friday–Saturday: 5pm–10pm
• Sunday: 5pm–9pm

The sister restaurant at 15 Gordon Street, Elsternwick, keeps a slightly different roster and is the better option if South Yarra is full.

A neighbourhood address worth keeping

Hawksburn’s stretch of Malvern Road is one of those inner-south pockets that still feels local: independents, a tram stop, and Chapel Street a few minutes on foot. 48h fits that street. It is not trying to be a nightclub with pizza attached. It is a small Italian kitchen that decided the dough would take two days, the gnocchi would be gluten-free without apology, and the hospitality would stay personal.

If you live in South Yarra, Prahran, Toorak or Malvern, it is the sort of place that becomes a Tuesday-night habit as easily as a Saturday booking. If you are coming from further out, book ahead, order the Di Parma, share a plate of gnocchi, and give the 48-hour crust the attention the name asks for.

48h Pizza e Gnocchi Bar — South Yarra

Address: 373 Malvern Road, South Yarra VIC 3141
Phone: (03) 9824 2573
Email: southyarra@48h.com.au
Website: www.48h.com.au/south-yarra
Book a table: www.48h.com.au/book
Instagram: @48hpizzaegnocchibar
Catering: catering@48h.com.au

Sister restaurant: 48h Pizza e Gnocchi Bar, 15 Gordon Street, Elsternwick VIC 3185 — (03) 9089 0422 — elsternwick@48h.com.au

Good to know: fully licensed (no BYO); vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options; bambini menu and high chairs; dogs welcome; takeaway available; bookings recommended.